Work with me at Skin Contact Studio

Hi, we’re Skin Contact Studio. We help brands grow their appetite for spice.

Founded by Vicky Gu¹ in Brooklyn, we're a hands-on strategy studio obsessed with connecting brand and editorial decisions to financial impact. (Vicky's an artist who went to business school.) We work with partners to develop narratives, content, marketing, and partnerships—grounded in research, policy, and conviction. (Not sorry for the keyword stuffing, just trying to keep this tight.) Our partners often have a strong creative point of view but need support to refine, operationalize, and advocate for it.

¹Vicky: An editor & strategist with roots in Dallas, DC, & Shanghai.

Are we a fit? We² often work with (and don't limit ourselves to):

• Startups (Seed, Series A/B, Bootstrapped • $1-50M revenue)
• Specialized studios with a technical or industry focus (data viz, food & hospitality, social impact, etc)
• Founders and heads of disciplines (studio leads, managing editors, CMOs, etc)
• Orgs in the food systems universe (CPG, agriculture, health, climate, etc)

Skin Contact Press is our publishing imprint—rooted in printmaking, with partners in Brooklyn and Oaxaca. This is for joy, and to stay close to the human truths that underlie business at any scale.

Our hyperdisciplinary newsletter sends you monthly field notes on what it takes to build a life big enough for both corporate work and personal creative evolution. Readers include leaders from The NYT, Discord, Google, Adobe, Publicis, Ogilvy, and many indie operators. ♥

Want to connect or have an initial strategy chat? Email me at vicky[at]skincontact.studio with a note on what you're looking for. If it looks good to pursue together, I'll set up a rich, focused discovery convo.

²It's technically just me, but I say “we” because there's a lot of collab you don't see. I'm always trading notes, dreams, & schemes with my people.

Share any of my working principles?

Click through the links for what I've written on them.

My Dundies display cabinet...

“I knew we had to work with Vicky from my first meeting with her, but I couldn't have begun to imagine how impactful her work with us to build a sharpened narrative strategy would be. Not only does Vicky have an incredible skill for creating a comfortable, creative environment that encourages organic, thoughtful feedback from users and team members alike, but her ability to aggregate soft data like user quotes, a founder's abstract vision thoughts, and the things that make our brand tick into a cogent and impactful narrative strategy is truly remarkable.” 

Jennie Moser, Stagetime CEO & Founder

"If you're trying to elevate the role of content and brand in your organization, I can't think of a better follow than Vicky Gu, who not only has the chops from a skills perspective but is also a wicked. good. writer."

Deborah Carver, Founder/Publisher of The Content Technologist

"Vicky Gu is NOT here to play"

Vimeo Marketing

How we can work together

Hourly Consulting
$225/hr
Examples (2-4 hrs each):

• Sharpen a strategy/pitch deck for a key client or exec stakeholder
• Workshop your brand narrative (with FigJam)
• Train on AI usage for brand comms & content creation

Project Consulting
Starts in $5-20k range for 1-4 month engagements
Examples: 

• Launched a market analysis publication for a B2B research company
• Reframed brand and product positioning for a performing arts network
• Defined marketing & social strategy for a 3-star Michelin team's new venture in NYC

For project consulting, I’m available in the month after launch to help with implementation questions. (I don’t draw hard lines between strategy and execution—I focus on where the business needs fall, knowing that evolves.) Afterward, I can help you find the right support, or we can explore ongoing collaboration through a monthly retainer (starts in the $3-8k range).

For CMOs looking for broad brand support or short-term leave substitutes, I can also come in as your Fractional Brand Lead. 

Ready to chat?

© 2025 Vicky Gu